Why Do Pesticides Matter?

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Organic farming and food has been a passion of mine for a while, growing up I had a small family garden that I planted every spring and tended to it though the summer into autumn. I personally never used chemical pesticides and fertilizers, I would use grass clippings and leaves from the previous year as fertilizer and as a weed deterrent. The reason why I never used chemical pesticides and fertilizers is because they can cause serious harm with direct contact, such as birth defects, blisters on the skin, pulmonary problems, and even death in serious cases, etc… In my opinion, there is no need for chemical fertilizers and pesticides; this is because civilization has gone thousands of years without them. Since organic farming does not use chemical …show more content…

When a person is exposed at an early age, there can be developmental delays, motor skill dysfunction, and behavioral disorders. Women who are pregnant are more susceptible to the side effects of pesticides, due to their already stressed out bodies. Pesticides can be passed from mother to child through breast milk, and through the skin when pesticides are absorbed through the skin and into the blood stream, ultimately affecting the mother as well as the fetus. Atrazine is one of the most widely used herbicide in the United States today, “Now researchers in Indiana are finding that a rare birth defect called’gastroschisis’ shows up more among babies conceived when atrazine levels are high” (Schafer, 2011, …show more content…

Organic dairy only uses certified organic alfalfa to feed milk cows. Although organic regulations were not altered in the decision, it is still a danger that may affect organic dairy production due to the unregulated planting. Certified organic farmers in the US have remained committed to the use of only certified organic seeds that aren’t owned and copyrighted by a biotechnology company. One of the main reasons this is done, is because in non-organic farming city sewage; “bio-solids”, are used to fertilize them. The problem with this is city sewage contains; heavy metals, lawn pesticides, detergents, oil, gas, as well as other harmful chemicals that may wind up in city sewage pipes. On the other hand, certified organic food is never grown with sewage waste that has been

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